Living substance. Functions of living matter in the biosphere

It took scientists many hundreds of years to explain the processes taking place within our planet. Knowledge gradually accumulated, theoretical and factual material grew. Today, people manage to find an explanation for many natural phenomena, intervene in their course, change or direct.

What role the living world plays in all the mechanisms of nature was also not immediately clear. However, the Russian philosopher, biogeochemist V. I. Vernadsky managed to create a theory that became the basis and remains so to this day. It is she who explains what our entire planet is, what are the relationships between all the participants in it. And most importantly, it is this theory that answers the question about the role of living beings on planet Earth. It was called the theory of the Earth.

Biosphere and its structure

The scientist proposed to call the biosphere the whole area of ​​the living and non-living, which is in close contact and, as a result of joint activity, contributes to the formation of certain geochemical components of nature.

That is, the biosphere includes the following structural parts of the Earth:

• the lower part of the atmosphere to the ozone layer;
• the entire hydrosphere;
• the upper level of the lithosphere is the soil and the layers below, up to and including groundwater.

That is, these are all those areas that are capable of being inhabited by living organisms. All of them, in turn, represent the total biomass, which is called the living matter of the biosphere. This includes representatives of all the kingdoms of nature, as well as man. The properties and functions of living matter are decisive in characterizing the biosphere as a whole, since it is it that is its main component.

However, in addition to the living, there are several more types of substances that make up the shell of the Earth we are considering. These are such as:

• biogenic;
• inert;
• bio-inert;
• radioactive;
• space;
• free atoms and elements.

Together, these types of compounds form the environment for biomass, the living conditions for it. At the same time, representatives of the kingdoms of nature themselves have a considerable influence on the formation of many types of these substances.

On the whole, all the indicated components of the biosphere are the total mass of elements that compose nature. It is they who enter into close interactions, carrying out the cycle of energy, substances, accumulating and processing many compounds. The basic unit is living matter. The functions of living matter are different, but all are very important and necessary to maintain the natural state of the planet.

Founder of the doctrine of the biosphere

The one who created the concept of "biosphere", developed it, structured it and fully revealed it, possessed extraordinary thinking, the ability to analyze and compare facts and data and make logical conclusions. In his time, V. I. Vernadsky became such a person. Great man, naturalist, academician and scientist, founder of many schools. His works became the basic foundation on which all theories are built until now.

He is the creator of all biogeochemistry. His merit is the creation of the mineral resource base of Russia (then the USSR). His students were well-known scientists of Russia and Ukraine in the future.

Vernadsky's predictions about the dominant position of people in the system of the organic world and that the biosphere is evolving into the noosphere have every reason to come true.

Living substance. Functions of the living matter of the biosphere

As we have already indicated above, the whole set of organisms belonging to all the kingdoms of nature is considered to be living matter. Human beings occupy a special position among all. The reasons for this were:

• consumer position, not production;
• development of mind and consciousness.

All other representatives are living matter. The functions of living matter were developed and indicated by Vernadsky. He assigned the following role to organisms:

1. Redox.
2. Destructive.
3. Transport.
4. Environment-forming.
5. Gas.
6. Energy.
7. Informational.
8. concentration.

The most basic functions of the living matter of the biosphere are gas, energy and redox. However, the rest are also important, providing complex processes of interaction between all parts and elements of the living shell of the planet.

Let's consider each of the functions in more detail to understand what exactly is meant and what is the essence.

Redox function of living matter

It manifests itself in numerous biochemical transformations of substances within each living organism. After all, in everyone, from bacteria to large mammals, there are every second reactions. As a result, some substances turn into others, some break down into constituent parts.

The result of such processes for the biosphere is the formation of biogenic matter. What connections can be cited?

1. Carbonate rocks (chalk, marble, limestones) are a waste product of mollusks and many other marine and terrestrial inhabitants.
2. Deposits of silicon rocks are the result of centuries of reactions occurring in the shells and shells of animals on the ocean floor.
3. Coal and peat are the result of biochemical transformations that occur with plants.
4. Oil and others.

Therefore, chemical reactions are the basis for the creation of many substances useful to man and nature. This is the function of living matter in the biosphere.

concentration function

If we talk about the disclosure of the concept of this role of a substance, then we should point out its close relationship with the previous one. Simply put, the concentration function of living matter is the accumulation inside the body of certain elements, atoms, compounds. As a result, the very rocks, minerals and minerals that were mentioned above are formed.

Each being is capable of accumulating some compounds in itself. However, the severity of this is different for everyone. For example, everyone accumulates carbon in themselves. But not every organism is able to concentrate about 20% of iron, as iron bacteria do.

We can give a few more examples that clearly illustrate this function of living matter.

1. Diatoms, radiolarians - silicon.
2. - manganese.
3. Swollen lobelia plant - chrome.
4. Solyanka plant - boron.

In addition to elements, many representatives of living beings are capable of forming whole complexes of substances after dying off.

Gas function of matter

This role is one of the most important. After all, gas exchange is a life-forming process for all beings. If we talk about the biosphere as a whole, then the gas function of living matter begins with the activity of plants, which capture carbon dioxide and release a sufficient amount of oxygen.

Sufficient for what? For the life of all those beings who are not capable of producing it on their own. And these are all animals, fungi, most bacteria. If we talk about the gas function of animals, then it consists in the consumption of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide into the environment during respiration.

This creates a general cycle that underlies life. Scientists have proven that over many millennia, plants and other living beings have managed to completely modernize and adjust the atmosphere of the planet for themselves. The following happened:

• oxygen concentration became sufficient for life;
• formed which protects all living things from destructive cosmic and ultraviolet radiation;
• the composition of the air has become what is needed for most creatures.

Therefore, the gas function of the living matter of the biosphere is considered one of the most important.

transport function

It implies the reproduction and resettlement of organisms in different territories. There are certain ecological laws that govern the distribution and transport of creatures. According to them, each individual occupies its own habitat. There are also competitive relationships that lead to the settlement and development of new territories.

Thus, the functions of living matter in the biosphere are reproduction and resettlement, followed by the formation of new features.

Destructive role

This is another important function that is characteristic of living creatures of the biosphere. It consists in the ability to decompose into simple substances after dying off, that is, stopping the life cycle. While the organism lives, complex molecules are active in it. When death occurs, the processes of destructuring, disintegration into simple constituent parts, begin.

This is carried out by a special group of creatures called detritophages or decomposers. These include:

• some worms;
• bacteria;
• fungi;
• simple and others.

Environment-forming function

The main functions of living matter would be incomplete if we did not indicate the formation of environments. What does it mean? We have already pointed out that living beings in the process of evolution have created an atmosphere for themselves. They did the same with the environment.

Loosening and saturating the earth with mineral compounds, organic matter, they created for themselves a fertile layer suitable for life - the soil. The same can be said about the chemical composition of the water of the oceans and seas. That is, living beings independently form the environment of life for themselves. This is where their environment-forming function in the biosphere is manifested.

Informational role of living matter

This role is typical for living organisms, and the more highly it is developed, the greater the role it plays as a carrier and processor of information. Not a single inanimate object is capable of remembering, "recording" on the subconscious and subsequently reproducing information of any kind. Only living beings can do this.

It is not only about the ability to speak and think. The information function implies the phenomenon of preserving and transmitting certain sets of knowledge and traits by inheritance.

energy function

Energy is the most important source of power, due to which living matter exists. The functions of living matter are manifested, first of all, in the ability to process the energy of the biosphere into various forms, from solar to thermal and electrical.

No one else can accumulate and change the radiation from the Sun like that. The first link here is, of course, plants. It is they who absorb sunlight directly over the entire surface of the greens. Then they convert it into the energy of chemical bonds available to animals. The latter translate it into different forms:

• thermal;
• electrical;
• mechanical and others.

One of the central links in the concept of the biosphere is the doctrine of living matter. Investigating the processes of migration of atoms in the biosphere, V. I. Vernadsky approached the question of the genesis (origin, occurrence) of chemical elements in the earth's crust, and after that, the need to explain the stability of the compounds that make up organisms. Analyzing the problem of atomic migration, he came to the conclusion that "organic compounds independent of living matter do not exist anywhere." Later, he formulates the concept of “living matter”: “The living matter of the biosphere is the totality of its living organisms ... I will call the totality of organisms, reduced to their weight, chemical composition and energy, living matter.” The main purpose of living matter and its integral attribute is the accumulation of free energy in the biosphere. The usual geochemical energy of living matter is produced primarily through reproduction.

The scientific ideas of V. I. Vernadsky about living matter, about the cosmic nature of life, about the biosphere and its transition to a new quality - the noosphere, have their roots in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when philosophers and natural scientists made the first attempts to comprehend the role and tasks of man in the general evolution of the earth. It was through their efforts that man began his advancement to the heights of the natural evolution of the living, gradually occupying the ecological niche allotted to him by nature.

In the 1930s, V. I. Vernadsky singled out humanity as a special part of the total mass of living matter. This separation of man from all living things became possible for three reasons. First, humanity is not a producer, but a consumer of biogeochemical energy. Such a thesis required a revision of the geochemical functions of living matter in the biosphere. Secondly, the mass of humanity, based on demographic data, is not a constant amount of living matter. And thirdly, its geochemical functions are characterized not by mass, but by production activity. The nature of the assimilation of biogeochemical energy by humanity is determined by the human mind. On the one hand, man is the culmination of unconscious evolution, the “product” of the spontaneous activity of nature, and on the other hand, the initiator of a new, reasonably directed stage of evolution itself.

What are the characteristics of living matter? First of all, it is a huge free energy. In the course of the evolution of species, the biogenic migration of atoms, i.e., the energy of the living matter of the biosphere, has increased many times over and continues to grow, because the living matter recycles the energy of solar radiation, the atomic energy of radioactive decay, and the cosmic energy of scattered elements coming from our Galaxy. Living matter is also characterized by a high rate of chemical reactions compared to non-living matter, where similar processes are thousands and millions of times slower. For example, some caterpillars can process food 200 times more than they weigh themselves per day, and one tit eats as many caterpillars per day as it weighs itself.

It is characteristic of living matter that the chemical compounds that make it up, the most important of which are proteins, are stable only in living organisms. After the completion of the life process, the original living organic substances decompose to chemical constituents. Living matter exists on the planet in the form of a continuous alternation of generations, due to which the newly formed is genetically connected with the living matter of past eras. This is the main structural unit of the biosphere, which determines all other processes on the surface of the earth's crust. Living matter is characterized by an evolutionary process. The genetic information of any organism is encrypted in each of its cells. V. I. Vernadsky classified living matter into homogeneous And heterogeneous. The first in his view is a generic, specific substance, etc., and the second is represented by natural mixtures of living substances. This is a forest, a swamp, a steppe, that is, a biocenosis. The scientist proposed to characterize living matter on the basis of such quantitative indicators as the chemical composition, the average weight of organisms and the average rate of settlement of the surface of the globe by them.

V. I. Vernadsky cites average figures for the rate of “transfer of life in the biosphere”. The time of capture by this species of the entire surface of our planet in different organisms can be expressed by the following figures (days):

cholera bacteria 1.25

Infusoria 10.6 (maximum)

Diatoms 16.8 (maximum)

Green 166-183 (medium)

plankton

Insects 366

Pisces 2159 (maximum)

Flowering plants 4076

Birds (chickens) 5600-6100

Mammals:

wild pig 37600

elephant indian 376000

Life on our planet exists in non-cellular and cellular forms.

non-cellular form living matter is represented by viruses that are devoid of irritability and their own protein synthesis. The simplest viruses consist only of a protein shell and a DNA or RNA molecule that makes up the core of the virus. Sometimes viruses are isolated into a special kingdom of wildlife - Vira. They can only reproduce inside certain living cells. Viruses are ubiquitous in nature and are a threat to all living things. Settling in the cells of living organisms, they cause their death. About 500 viruses that infect warm-blooded vertebrates and about 300 viruses that destroy higher plants have been described. More than half of human diseases owe their development to the smallest viruses (they are 100 times smaller than bacteria). These are poliomyelitis, smallpox, influenza, infectious hepatitis, yellow fever, etc.

Cell forms life is represented by prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Prokaryotes include various bacteria. Eukaryotes are all higher animals and plants, as well as unicellular and multicellular algae, fungi and protozoa.

Living matter - living organisms that inhabit our planet.

The mass of living matter is only 0.01% of the mass of the entire biosphere. Nevertheless, the living matter of the biosphere is its main component.

Signs (properties) of living matter that distinguish it from non-living:

Certain chemical composition. Living organisms consist of the same chemical elements as objects of inanimate nature, but the ratio of these elements is different. The basic elements of living beings are C, O, N and H.

Cell structure. All living organisms, except viruses, have a cellular structure.

Metabolism and energy dependence. Living organisms are open systems, they depend on the receipt of substances and energy from the external environment.

Self-regulation (homeostasis). Living organisms have the ability to maintain homeostasis - the constancy of their chemical composition and the intensity of metabolic processes.

Irritability. Living organisms show irritability, that is, the ability to respond to certain external influences with specific reactions.

Heredity. Living organisms are able to transfer signs and properties from generation to generation with the help of information carriers - DNA and RNA molecules.

• 7. Variability. Living organisms are capable of acquiring new features and properties.
• 8. Self-reproduction (reproduction). Living organisms are able to reproduce - to reproduce their own kind.
• 9. Individual development (ontogenesis). Each individual is characterized by ontogeny - the individual development of the organism from birth to the end of life (death or a new division). Development is accompanied by growth.
• 10. Evolutionary development (phylogenesis). Living matter as a whole is characterized by phylogeny - the historical development of life on Earth from the moment of its appearance to the present.

Adaptations. Living organisms are able to adapt, that is, adapt to environmental conditions.

Rhythm. Living organisms show the rhythm of life activity (daily, seasonal, etc.).

Integrity and discreteness. On the one hand, all living matter is integral, organized in a certain way and obeys general laws; on the other hand, any biological system consists of separate, albeit interconnected, elements.

Hierarchy. Starting from biopolymers (proteins and nucleic acids) and ending with the biosphere as a whole, all living things are in a certain subordination. The functioning of biological systems at a less complex level makes possible the existence of a more complex level.

The world of living organisms of the biosphere surrounding us is a combination of various biological systems of different structural order and different organizational positions.

The hierarchical nature of the organization of living matter allows us to conditionally subdivide it into a number of levels.

The level of organization of living matter - it is a functional place of the biological structure of a certain degree of complexity in the general hierarchy of the living.

Currently, there are 9 levels of organization of living matter:

Molecular(at this level, the functioning of biologically active large molecules, such as proteins, nucleic acids, etc.);

Subcellular(supramolecular). At this level, living matter is organized into organelles: chromosomes, cell membrane, and other subcellular structures.

Cellular. At this level, living matter is represented by cells. The cell is the elementary structural and functional unit of the living.

Organ tissue. At this level, living matter is organized into tissues and organs. Tissue - a collection of cells similar in structure and function, as well as intercellular substances associated with them. An organ is a part of a multicellular organism that performs a specific function or functions.

Organismic (ontogenetic). At this level, characterized by all its features.

Population-species. At this level, the living matter is the same as the species. A species is a set of individuals (populations of individuals) capable of interbreeding with the formation of fertile offspring and occupying a certain area (range) in nature.

Biocenotic. At this level, living matter forms biocenoses. Biocenosis - a set of populations of different species living in a certain area.

Biogeocenotic. At this level, living matter forms
biogeocenoses. Biogeocenosis - a combination of biocenosis and abiotic factors of the environment (climate, soil).

Biospheric. At this level, living matter forms the biosphere. The biosphere is the shell of the Earth, transformed by the activity of living organisms.

The chemical composition of living organisms can be expressed in two forms: atomic and molecular. Atomic (elemental) composition characterizes the ratio of atoms of elements included in living organisms. Molecular (material) composition reflects the ratio of molecules of substances.

According to the relative content of the elements that make up living organisms, it is customary to divide into three groups:

Macronutrients- O, C, H, N (about 98-99% in total, their
also called basic), Ca, K, Si, Mg, P, S, Na, Cl, Fe (about 1-2% in total). Macronutrients make up the bulk of the percentage composition of living organisms.

Trace elements - Mn, Co, Zn, Cu, B, I, F, etc. Their total content in living matter is about 0.1%

Ultramicroelements- Se, U, Hg, Ra, Au, Ag, etc. Their content in living matter is very small (less than 0.01%), and the physiological role for most of them has not been disclosed.

Chemical elements that are part of living organisms and at the same time perform biological functions are called biogenic. Even those of them that are contained in cells in negligible amounts cannot be replaced by anything and are absolutely necessary for life.

Chemical elements are part of cells in the form of ions and molecules of inorganic and organic substances. The most important inorganic substances in the cell are water and mineral salts, the most important organic substances are carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids.

Carbohydrates- organic compounds containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They are divided into simple (monosaccharides) and complex (polysaccharides). Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for all forms of cellular activity. They are involved in building strong plant tissues (in particular, cellulose) and play the role of reserve nutrients in organisms. Carbohydrates are the primary product of photosynthesis in green plants.

Lipids- These are fat-like substances that are poorly soluble in water (consist of carbon and hydrogen atoms). Lipids are involved in the construction of cell walls (membranes), conduct heat poorly, thereby performing a protective function. In addition, lipids are reserve nutrients.

Squirrels are a combination of proteinogenic amino acids (20 pieces) and consist of 30-50% AA. Proteins are large, being essentially macromolecules. Proteins act as natural catalysts for chemical processes. Proteins also contain metals such as iron, magnesium, and manganese.

Nucleic acids(NK) form the nucleus of the cell. There are 2 main types of NA: DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid and RNA - ribonucleic acid. NK regulate the process of synthesis, carry out the transfer of hereditary information from generation to generation.

All living organisms that live on Earth are open systems that depend on the supply of matter and energy from outside. The process of consuming matter and energy is called food. All living organisms are divided into autotrophic and heterotrophic.

Autotrophs(autotrophic organisms) - organisms that use carbon dioxide as a source of carbon (plants and some bacteria). In other words, these are organisms capable of creating organic compounds from inorganic ones - carbon dioxide, water, mineral salts (these include, first of all, plants that carry out photosynthesis).

Heterotrophs(heterotrophic organisms) - organisms that use organic compounds as a carbon source (animals, fungi and most bacteria). In other words, these are organisms that are not able to create organic substances from inorganic ones, but need ready-made organic substances (microorganisms and animals).

There is no clear boundary between auto- and heterotrophs. For example, euglena organisms (flagellates) combine autotrophic and heterotrophic modes of nutrition.

In relation to free oxygen, organisms are divided into three groups: aerobes, anaerobes and facultative forms.

Aerobes- organisms that can live only in an oxygen environment (animals, plants, some bacteria and fungi).

Anaerobes- organisms that are unable to live in an oxygen environment (some bacteria).

Optional Forms- organisms that can live both in the presence of oxygen and without it (some bacteria and fungi).

Currently, the whole world of living beings is divided into 3 large systematic groups:

The greatest concentration of life in the biosphere is observed at the boundaries of contact between the earth's shells: the atmosphere and lithosphere (land surface), atmosphere and hydrosphere (ocean surface), and especially at the boundaries of three shells - the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere (coastal zones). These are the places where V.I. Vernadsky called "films of life". Up and down from these surfaces, the concentration of living matter decreases.

The main unique features of living matter, which determine its extremely high transformative activity, include the following:

The ability to quickly occupy (master) all free space. This property is associated with both intensive reproduction and the ability of organisms to intensively increase the surface of their bodies or the communities they form.

The movement is not only passive, but also active, that is, not only under the action of gravity, gravitational forces, etc., but also against the flow of water, gravity, air currents, etc.

Persistence during life and rapid decomposition after death(inclusion in the circulation of substances). Thanks to self-regulation, living organisms are able to maintain a constant chemical composition and conditions of the internal environment, despite significant changes in environmental conditions. After death, this ability is lost, and organic remains are destroyed very quickly. The resulting organic and inorganic substances are included in the cycles.

High adaptability (adaptation) to various conditions and, in connection with this, the development of not only all environments of life (water, ground-air, soil, organism), but also extremely difficult conditions in terms of physico-chemical parameters (microorganisms are found in thermal springs with temperatures up to 140 ° C, in waters of nuclear reactors, in an oxygen-free environment).

Phenomenally fast reactions. It is several orders of magnitude greater than in inanimate matter.

High rate of renewal of living matter. Only a small part of living matter (fractions of a percent) is conserved in the form of organic residues, while the rest is constantly included in the cycle processes.

All of the listed properties of living matter are determined by the concentration of large reserves of energy in it.

The following main geochemical functions of living matter are distinguished:

Energy (biochemical)- binding and storage of solar energy in organic matter and subsequent dissipation of energy during consumption and mineralization of organic matter. This function is associated with nutrition, respiration, reproduction and other vital processes of organisms.

Gas- the ability of living organisms to change and maintain a certain gas composition of the environment and the atmosphere as a whole. Two critical periods (points) in the development of the biosphere are associated with the gas function. The first of them refers to the time when the oxygen content in the atmosphere reached about 1% of the current level. This led to the appearance of the first aerobic organisms (capable of living only in an environment containing oxygen). The second turning point is associated with the time when the oxygen concentration reached approximately 10% of the current one. This created the conditions for the synthesis of ozone and the formation of the ozone layer in the upper layers of the atmosphere, which made it possible for organisms to develop land.

concentration- "capture" from the environment by living organisms and the accumulation of atoms of biogenic chemical elements in them. The concentration ability of living matter increases the content of atoms of chemical elements in organisms in comparison with the environment by several orders of magnitude. The result of the concentration activity of living matter is the formation of deposits of fossil fuels, limestone, ore deposits, etc.

Oxidatively-reductive - oxidation and reduction of various substances with the participation of living organisms. Under the influence of living organisms, there is an intensive migration of atoms of elements with variable valence (Fe, Mn, S, P, N, etc.), their new compounds are created, sulfides and mineral sulfur are deposited, and hydrogen sulfide is formed.

destructive- destruction by organisms and products of their vital activity of both the remains of organic matter and inert substances. The most significant role in this regard is played by decomposers (destructors) - saprophytic fungi and bacteria.

Transport- the transfer of matter and energy as a result of the active form of movement of organisms.

Environment-forming- transformation of physical and chemical parameters of the medium. The result of the environment-forming function is the entire biosphere, and the soil as one of the habitats, and more local structures.

Scattering- a function opposite to concentration - dispersion of substances in the environment. For example, the dispersion of matter during the excretion of excrement by organisms, the change of covers, etc.

Informational- the accumulation of certain information by living organisms, fixing it in hereditary structures and passing it on to subsequent generations. This is one of the manifestations of adaptive mechanisms.

Biogeochemical human activity- transformation and movement of substances of the biosphere as a result of human activity for economic and domestic needs of a person. For example, the use of carbon concentrators - oil, coal, gas.

Thus, the biosphere is a complex dynamic system that captures, accumulates and transfers energy through the exchange of substances between living matter and the environment.

The mass of living matter is only 0.01% of the mass of the entire biosphere. Nevertheless, the living matter of the biosphere is its main component.

The greatest concentration of life in the biosphere is observed at the boundaries of contact between the earth's shells: the atmosphere and lithosphere (land surface), atmosphere and hydrosphere (ocean surface), and especially at the boundaries of three shells - the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere (coastal zones). These are the places where V.I. Vernadsky called "films of life". Up and down from these surfaces, the concentration of living matter decreases.

All systems studied by ecology include biotic components that together form living matter.

The term "living matter" was introduced into the literature by V. I. Vernadsky, by which he understood the totality of all living organisms, expressed through mass, energy and chemical composition. Life on Earth is the most outstanding process on its surface, receiving the life-giving energy of the Sun and putting into motion almost all the chemical elements of the periodic table.

According to modern estimates, the total mass of living matter in the biosphere is about 2400 billion tons (table).

Table Total mass of living matter in the biosphere

The mass of living matter on the surface of the continents is 800 times greater than the biomass of the World Ocean. On the surface of the continents, plants sharply predominate in their mass over animals. In the ocean, we observe the opposite relationship: 93.7% of the biomass of the sea is accounted for by animals. This is mainly due to the fact that in the marine environment there are the most favorable conditions for the nutrition of animals. The smallest plant organisms that make up phytoplankton and live in the illuminated zone of the seas and oceans are quickly eaten by marine animals and, thus, the transition of organic substances from the plant form to the animal form sharply shifts the biomass towards the predominance of animals.

All living matter in its mass occupies an insignificant place in comparison with any of the upper geospheres of the globe. For example, the mass of the atmosphere is 2150 times greater, the hydrosphere is 602000 times greater, and the earth's crust is 1670000 times greater.

However, in terms of its active impact on the environment, living matter occupies a special place and qualitatively differs sharply from other inorganic natural formations that make up the biosphere. First of all, this is due to the fact that living organisms, thanks to biological catalysts (enzymes), perform, in the words of Academician L.S. Berg, from a physicochemical point of view, something incredible. For example, they are able to fix in their body the molecular nitrogen of the atmosphere at the usual values ​​of temperature and pressure for the natural environment.

In industrial conditions, the binding of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia (NH 3) requires a temperature of the order of 500 ° C and a pressure of 300-500 atmospheres. In living organisms, the rates of chemical reactions in the process of metabolism increase by several orders of magnitude.

IN AND. Vernadsky in this regard called living matter a form of extremely activated matter.

To the main unique features of living matter, causing its high transformative activity, can be attributed to:

1. Ability to quickly occupy free space , which is associated with both intensive reproduction and the ability of organisms to intensively increase the surface of their bodies or the communities they form ( ubiquity life ).

2. Movement is not only passive (under the influence of gravity) but also active. For example, against the flow of water, gravity, the movement of air currents.

3. Persistence during life and rapid decomposition after death (inclusion in cycles), while maintaining high physical and chemical activity.

4. High adaptability (adaptation) to various conditions and, in connection with this, the development of not only all environments of life (aquatic, land-air, soil), but also extremely difficult in terms of physical and chemical parameters.

5. Phenomenally fast chemical reactions . It is several orders of magnitude greater than in inanimate nature. This property can be judged by the rate of processing of matter by organisms in the process of life. For example, the caterpillars of some insects process an amount of a substance per day that is 100 to 200 times their body weight.

6. High rate of renewal of living matter . It is estimated that on average for the biosphere it is about 8 years (for land, 14 years, and for the ocean, where organisms with a short life span predominate, 33 days).

7. Variety of shapes, sizes and chemical options , significantly exceeding many contrasts in inanimate, inert matter.

8. Individuality (there are no identical species and even individuals in the world).

All the listed and other properties of living matter are determined by the concentration of large reserves of energy in it. IN AND. Vernadsky noted that only lava formed during volcanic eruptions can compete with living matter in terms of energy saturation.

Functions of living matter. All activity of living matter in the biosphere can, with a certain degree of conventionality, be reduced to several fundamental functions that can significantly complement the idea of ​​its transformative biospheric-geological activity.

1. Energy . This one of the most important functions is associated with the storage of energy in the process of photosynthesis, its transfer through food chains and dissipation in the surrounding space.

2. Gas - associated with the ability to change and maintain a certain gas composition of the environment and the atmosphere as a whole.

3. redox - is associated with an increase in the intensity of processes such as oxidation and reduction under the influence of living matter.

4. concentration - the ability of organisms to concentrate scattered chemical elements in their body, increasing their content by several orders of magnitude, compared with the environment, and in the body of individual organisms - millions of times. The result of concentration activity is deposits of combustible minerals, limestone, ore deposits, etc.

5. destructive - destruction by organisms and products of their vital activity, including after their death, both the remains of organic matter themselves and inert substances. The main mechanism of this function is associated with the circulation of substances. The most significant role in this regard is played by the lower forms of life - fungi, bacteria (destructors, decomposers).

6. Transport - the transfer of matter and energy as a result of the active form of movement of organisms. Often such a transfer is carried out over enormous distances, for example, during migrations and nomadic movements of animals.

7. Environment-forming . This function is largely the result of the combined action of other functions. Ultimately, it is associated with the transformation of the physicochemical parameters of the medium. This function can be considered in a broader and narrower terms. In a broad sense, the result of this function is the entire natural environment. It was created by living organisms, and they also maintain its parameters in a relatively stable state in almost all geospheres. In a narrower sense, the environment-forming function of living matter is manifested, for example, in the formation and preservation of soils from destruction (erosion), in the purification of air and water from pollution, in strengthening the supply of groundwater sources, etc.

8. Scattering function opposite to concentration. It manifests itself through the trophic (nutritional) and transport activities of organisms. For example, the dispersion of matter during the excretion of excrement by organisms, the death of organisms during various kinds of movements in space, and the change of covers.

9. Informational the function of living matter is expressed in the fact that living organisms and their communities accumulate information, fix it in hereditary structures and pass it on to subsequent generations. This is one of the manifestations of adaptive mechanisms.

Despite the huge variety of forms, all living matter is physically and chemically the same . And this is one of the basic laws of the entire organic world - the law of the physico-chemical unity of living matter. It follows from it that there is no such physical or chemical agent that would be fatal for some organisms and absolutely harmless to others. The difference is only quantitative - some organisms are more sensitive, others less, some adapt faster, others slower. In this case, adaptation occurs in the course of natural selection, i.e. due to the death of those individuals who could not adapt to new conditions.

Thus, the biosphere is a complex dynamic system that captures, accumulates and transfers energy through the exchange of substances between living matter and the environment.

properties of living matter.

Living matter, concept.

Lecture 3. LIVING SUBSTANCE OF THE PLANET.

The teaching of V.I. Vernadsky says that living matter (the totality of living organisms) determines and subjugates wholly other planetary processes. If it is evenly distributed on the surface of the Earth, then living organisms form a film 5 mm thick. But, nevertheless, their role is great. A significant place is occupied by the green living matter of plants, because. it is autotrophic and is capable of accumulating solar energy and converting it into the energy of chemical bonds of organic compounds.

Living organisms transform cosmic radiant energy into terrestrial chemical energy and create an endless variety of our world. With their breath, nutrition, metabolism, death and decay, which have been going on for hundreds of millions of years, they give rise to a grandiose planetary process - migration of chemical elements, or their cycle.

Living matter, according to Vernadsky's theory, is a biogeochemical factor on a planetary scale, under the influence of which both the surrounding abiotic sphere and the living organisms themselves are transformed. Limestone strata, coal deposits, iron ores - all this is a manifestation of the activity of the life force.

Living matter, despite its enormous diversity, is united in its atomic basis. Atomic migration occurs not only between the organisms themselves, but also from the organism to the environment and vice versa. This would not have happened if the chemical composition of organisms was not close to the chemical composition of the earth's crust. And the chemical composition of the latter is determined not only by geological reasons, but also by laws of a cosmic nature (for example, the structure of atoms). Therefore, according to Vernadsky, life is a cosmic process. Organisms are dominated by light elements from the periodic table: H, C, N, O, Na, Mg, P, S, K, Ca, etc.

The term "living matter" was introduced into the literature by V. I. Vernadsky. Under it, he understood the totality of all living organisms, expressed through mass, energy and chemical composition.

According to Vernadsky, living matter consists of seven diverse, but geologically interconnected parts: living matter; biogenic substance; inert substance; bio-inert substance; radioactive substance; scattered atoms; matter of cosmic origin. Within the biosphere, either living matter or traces of its biogeochemical activity are found everywhere. Atmospheric gases (oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide), natural waters, as well as caustobiolites (oils, coals), limestones, clays and their metamorphic derivatives (slates, marbles, granites, etc.) are basically created by the living matter of the planet. The layers of the earth's crust, currently devoid of living matter, but processed by him in the geological past, Vernadsky referred to the area of ​​"former biospheres". The biosphere is mosaic in structure and composition, reflecting the geochemical and geophysical heterogeneity of the face of the Earth (oceans, lakes, mountains, gorges, plains, etc.) and the uneven distribution of living matter on the planet both in past eras and in our time. The maximum content of the living matter of the hydrosphere is confined to shallow waters, the minimum - to deep water areas (abyssal); on land, this unevenness manifests itself in a mosaic of biogeocenotic cover (forests, swamps, steppes, deserts, etc.) with a minimum density of living matter in high mountains, deserts and polar regions.

Substances of inanimate nature are inert (for example, minerals). In nature, in addition, bio-inert substances are quite widely represented, the formation and composition of which is determined by living and inert components (for example, soil, water).

Living matter- the basis of the biosphere, although it is an extremely small part of it. If it is isolated in its pure form and distributed evenly over the surface of the Earth, then it will be a layer of about 2 cm or an extremely small fraction of the volume of the entire biosphere, the thickness of which is measured in tens of kilometers. What is the reason for such a high chemical activity and the geological role of living matter?

First of all, this is due to the fact that living organisms, thanks to biological catalysts (enzymes), perform, in the words of Academician L. S. Berg, something incredible from a physicochemical point of view. For example, they are able to fix the molecular nitrogen of the atmosphere in their body at the usual temperature and pressure values ​​for the natural environment. Under industrial conditions, the binding of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia requires a temperature of about 500°C and a pressure of 300-500 atmospheres.

In living organisms, the rates of chemical reactions in the process of metabolism increase by an order of magnitude or several orders of magnitude. V. I. Vernadsky, in connection with this, called living matter extremely activated matter.